Tag: Catholic

On this day, May 17, 1974, thirty-three civilians were killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland. It was the deadliest attack of the Troubles and the deadliest terrorist attack in the Republic’s history.

There are credible allegations that elements of the British state security forces helped the UVF carry out the bombings, including members of the Glenanne gang. Some of these allegations have come from former members of the security forces. The Irish parliament’s Joint Committee on Justice called the attacks an act of international terrorism involving British state forces. Just the month before the bombings, the British government had lifted the UVF’s status as a proscribed organization, meaning the UVF was not considered a terrorist organization at the time of the May 17 bombing. Excuse me?

The bombings occurred within the context of the Ulster Workers’ Council strike, which was called by hardline loyalists and unionists in Northern Ireland who opposed the Sunningdale Agreement. Specifically, they opposed the sharing of political power with Irish nationalists and the proposed role for the Republic in the governance of Northern Ireland. The strike brought down the Agreement and the Northern Ireland Assembly on May 28, 1974.

Ironically, the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, on which the current system of Northern Irish devolution is based, closely resembles the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement.

Let’s take another look at these UVF loyalists that few outside of Ireland have heard of, as well as their friends the UDA:

1968

The UVF carried out three attacks on Catholics in Belfast. In the first, a Protestant civilian (Matilda Gould) died when UVF members tried to firebomb the Catholic-owned pub beside her house but accidentally struck her home.

In the second, a Catholic civilian (John Patrick Scullion) was shot dead as he walked home. In the third, the UVF opened fire on three Catholic civilians as they left a pub, killing one (Peter Ward, a native of the Republic of Ireland) and wounding the other two.

1969

The UVF planted their first bomb in the Republic of Ireland, damaging the RTÉ Television Centre in Dublin

The UVF detonated bombs in the Republic of Ireland. In Dublin, it detonated a car bomb near the Garda Síochána central detective bureau. It also bombed a power station at Ballyshannon, a Wolfe Tone memorial in Bodenstown, and the Daniel O’Connell monument in Dublin.

1971

September Loyalists formed the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The group would quickly become the largest loyalist group in Northern Ireland. What? Who are these guys?

In addition to the loyalist paramilitary group known as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the UDA/UFF was responsible for more than 400 deaths. The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, killed at random, in what the group called retaliation for IRA actions or attacks on Protestants. Other High-profile attacks carried out by the group include the Milltown massacre, the Sean Graham’s and James Murray’s bookmakers’ shootings, the Castlerock killings and the Greysteel massacre. Most of its attacks were in Northern Ireland, but from 1972 onward bombings in the Republic of Ireland were executed as well. While the UDA/UFF declared a ceasefire in 1994 and ended its campaign in 2007, some of its members have continued to engage in violence.

For example:

Also in 1971:McGurk’s – the UVF exploded a bomb at a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast, killing fifteen Catholic civilians (including two children) and wounding seventeen others. This was the highest death toll from a single incident in Belfast during the Troubles

1973

The British government outlawed the “UFF” in November 1973, but the UDA itself was not proscribed as a terrorist group until August 1992.

Oh, and the Sunningdale Agreement was signed. You know, the one that was agreed to under a different name in 1998? 25 years later… all the violence, what was the point?

1974

Dublin and Monaghan bombings – the UVF exploded four bombs (three in Dublin, one in Monaghan). They killed thirty-three civilians and wounded a further 300. This was the highest number of casualties in a single incident during “The Troubles”. It has been alleged that members of the British security forces were involved. The UVF did not claim responsibility until 15 July 1993.

1975

The UVF tried to derail a train by planting a bomb on the railway line near Straffan, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. A civilian, Christopher Phelan, tried to stop the UVF volunteers and was stabbed-to-death. His actions, however, reportedly delayed the explosion long enough to allow the train to pass safely.

Miami Showband Massacre– UVF volunteers (some of whom were also UDR soldiers) shot dead three musicians (Tony Geraghty and Fran O’Toole, both from the Republic of Ireland, and Brian McCoy, a Northern Irish Protestant), members of the Irish showband called “Miami Showband”, at Buskhill, County Down. The gunmen staged a bogus military checkpoint, stopped the showband’s bus and ordered the musicians out. Two UDR soldiers (Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville) hid a time bomb in the bus, but it exploded prematurely and they were killed. The other gunmen then opened fire on the musicians and fled. Three UDR soldiers were later convicted for their part in the attack, which has been linked to the “Glenanne gang”

The UVF killed seven civilians in a series of attacks across Northern Ireland. Six were Catholics (Frances Donnelly, Gerard Grogan, Marie McGrattan, Thomas Murphy, Thomas Osbourne, and John Stewart) and one was a Protestant (Irene Nicholson). Four UVF volunteers (Mark Dodd, Robert Freeman, Aubrey Reid, Samuel Swanson) were killed when the bomb they were transporting prematurely exploded as they drove along a road in Farrenlester, County Londonderry, near Coleraine.

1976

The Reavey and O’Dowd Shootings– the UVF shot dead six Catholic civilians from two families (one group was a trio of brothers; the other was an uncle and two nephews) in co-ordinated attacks in County Armagh. An officer in the RUC Special Patrol Group took part in the killings, which have been linked to the “Glenanne gang”.

The UVF launched gun and bomb attacks on two pubs in Charlemont, County Armagh, killing four Catholic civilians (Felix Clancy, Robert McCullough, Frederick McLoughlin, and Sean O’Hagan). A British Army UDR soldier was later convicted for taking part in the attacks Nine civilians were killed during separate attacks in and around Belfast. After a suspected republican bombing killed two Protestant civilians (Robert Groves and Edward McMurray) in a pub, the UVF killed three Catholic civilians and two Protestant civilians, all males (Samuel Corr, James Coyle, Edward Farrell, John Martin, and Daniel McNeil) in a gun and bomb attack at the Chlorane Bar. In a separate bomb attack on the International Bar, Portaferry, County Down, the UVF killed a Catholic civilian. The UDA/UFF also assassinated a member of Sinn Féin, Colm Mulgrew.

The Ramble Inn Attack– the UVF killed six civilians (five Protestants, one Catholic) in a gun attack at a pub near Antrim. The pub was targeted because it was owned by Catholics. The victims were Frank Scott, Ernest Moore, James McCallion, Joseph Ellis, James Francey (all Protestants) and Oliver Woulahan, a Catholic.

1989

Twenty-eight members of the British Army (Ulster Defence Regiment) were arrested on suspicion of leaking security force documents to loyalist paramilitaries

1991

The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) (acting on behalf of all loyalist paramilitaries) announced a ceasefire lasting until 4 July. This coincided with political talks between the four main parties (the Brooke-Mayhew talks).

1992

Sean Graham bookmakers’ shooting – the UDA, using the covername “Ulster Freedom Fighters” (UFF), claimed responsibility for a gun attack on a bookmaker’s shop on Lower Ormeau Road, Belfast. Five Catholic men and boys were killed (Christy Doherty, Jack Duffin, James Kennedy, Peter Magee, and William McManus). Nine others were wounded, one critically. This was claimed as retaliation for the Teebane bombing on 17 January 1992. In November 1992, the UDA carried out another attack on a betting shop in Belfast, killing three Catholic civilians and wounding thirteen.

And, the UDA was finally proscribed as a terrorist organization by the British government. Gee, thanks.

1993

Castlerock killings – the UDA, using the covername “Ulster Freedom Fighters” (UFF), claimed responsibility for shooting dead four Catholic civilians and a PIRA volunteer at a building site in Castlerock, County Londonderry. Later in the day, it claimed responsibility for shooting dead another Catholic civilian in Belfast

Greysteel Massacre– the UDA, using the covername “Ulster Freedom Fighters” (UFF), claimed responsibility for a gun attack on the Rising Sun Bar in Greysteel, County Londonderry. Eight civilians (six Catholic, two Protestant) were killed and twelve wounded. One gunman yelled “trick or treat!” before he fired into the crowded room; a reference to the Halloween party taking place. The UFF claimed that it had attacked the “nationalist electorate” in revenge for the Shankill Road bombing

The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) issued a statement which announced a ceasefire on behalf of all loyalist paramilitaries. The statement noted that “The permanence of our cease-fire will be completely dependent upon the continued cessation of all nationalist/republican violence.”

1996

Drumcree conflict – the RUC decided to block the annual Orange Order march through the nationalist Garvaghy area of Portadown. In response, loyalist protestors attacked the RUC and blocked hundreds of roads across Northern Ireland. Eventually, the RUC allowed the march to continue, leading to serious rioting by nationalists across Northern Ireland.

1998

Drumcree conflict – the annual Orange Order march was prevented from marching through the nationalist Garvaghy area of Portadown. Security forces and about 10,000 loyalists began a standoff at Drumcree church. During this time, loyalists launched 550 attacks on the security forces and numerous attacks on Catholic civilians. On 12 July, three children were burnt to death in a loyalist petrol bomb attack. This incident brought an end to the standoff.

2007

The UVF and RHC issued a statement declaring an end to its armed campaign. The statement noted that they would retain their weapons but put them “beyond reach.”

The UDA issued a statement declaring an end to its armed campaign. The statement noted that they would retain their weapons but put them “beyond use.”

2010

It was announced that the Ulster Defence Association(UDA) had decommissioned its weapons in front of independent witnesses

The UVF were blamed for shooting dead former Red Hand Commando member Bobby Moffett in broad daylight on Shankill Road, Belfast. The killing put the UVF’s claims of weapons decommissioning and commitment to peace under serious scrutiny.

As mentioned, in the podcast on Second Fiddle Belligerents and the Absence of Justice, there is also the lack of international accountability applied to these perpetrators of violence that I call “second fiddle belligerents.” Secondary belligerents seem to both escape international accountability as well as avoid responsibility for domestic accountability. While the international community notes the difference between individual major and minor war criminals, the supposition negates itself if those secondary belligerents do not hold their war criminals accountable. The absence of justice may be a result of domestic disinterest, a lack of international pressure, or the collapse of the nation-state and/or its government.

For example, in the Balkan Wars which began when Slovenia seceded from the Yugoslav Federation on June 25, 1991, Serbia and Croatia quickly sought, not to reunify Yugoslavia, but to create a Greater Serbia and a Greater Croatia. The primary victim of these landgrabs was the Bosnia-Herzegovina; the Serbs infamously created the Republika Srpska to legitimize their landgrab, but it is lesser well-known that the Croats similarly created the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia within the territorial boundaries of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Franjo Tuđman, the President of Croatia, crush Croatian Serbians, supported the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, and on March 25, 1991, Tuđman met with Slobodan Milošević met at Karađorđevo where he may have discussed the partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina between Serbia and Croatia.

The Croatians are as responsible for the Bosnia Genocide as the Serbians. The so-called Loyalist organizations of Northern Ireland are as responsible for The Troubles as the Irish so-called nationalist organizations. Violence is violence. Crimes against humanity are, as the term suggests, crimes against all of us, regardless of the numerical stat sheets of organizations that murder civilian populations.

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Yes, on this day, May 17, 1974, thirty-three civilians were killed and more than 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonated four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, within the Republic of Ireland. And yet, how many recognize loyalist organizations as terrorist organizations as readily as the names of the IRA, Provos, and other republican organizations are called-out for their own heinous crimes?

Did you see Fr. Kiley’s piece in the Providence Visitor this week? (If you didn’t its attached at the end of this posting.) Another example of an out of touch member of the clergy…

Perhaps before Vatican Council II, Fr. Kiley could have found, “a choir of cloistered nuns was chanting God’s praises while a priest filled the sanctuary with the aroma of incense”, but in 2005 (outside of Lefevrite communities and Domino Pizza funded churches) such a place does not exist. Perhaps if more clergy were as interested in equal liturgical rights for religious women as well as lay men and women, there might be.

Kiley also criticizes the use of tambourines, yet a quick search of the Bible shows that there are at least twelve references to the use of tambourines in celebration, including Isaiah 30v32, Exodus 15v20, 1 Samuel 18v6, Judges, 11v34, 1 Chronicles 13v8, Psalms 68v25, Psalms81v2, Psalms149v3, Psalms 150v4, Jeremiah 31v4, Exodusv20, and Judges 11v34. There are no references to organ music in the Bible. The same day as Fr. Kiley’s essay was in the Providence Visitor, the lead editorial headline was that “More Catholics need to be reading the Bible.” Perhaps Fr. Kiley should read the history of music, especially tambourines, in liturgical celebration.

Kiley also criticizes the location of the tabernacles, yet of course a cry-room that has been converted to a chapel would have a tabernacle. Any liturgist would rightfully complain if a chapel did not have a tabernacle. To the critique of the main tabernacle, any reading of the authoritative Order of the Mass shows that the altar should be in the prime spot, lectionary in the secondary spot and music albo or baptismal font in the third. The main tabernacle is not suppose to be in a spot of prime importance, at least not since Vatican Council II -forty something years ago.

An increasing number of neo-reactionaries have been drum-rolling a complaint against community-building at Mass. How sad that people view Mass to be a solitary affair between a person and a celebrant, instead of between a community, a presider, and a living God.

Fr. Kiley laments that kitchenware replaced the “precious metals” on the altar –I wonder which had a better chance of being at the first Mass, or Last Supper, the “kitchenware” of a simple carpenter or gold chalices?

Bells? Any student of liturgical history knows that the bells were introduces into the Mass at a time when the Mass was not in vernacular and so people’s attention strayed…the bells were a call to pay attention. The parish on the “far-out coast” does not sound as if it needs artificial reminders to pay attention; it seems to me that the congregation must have been very attentive to know when to “join with the priest in reciting the final solemn words of the Canon: ‘through Him, with Him, and in Him.’

How sad it is to read a member of the clergy write with such disdain for a community that obviously has embraced the joy of Christ, embraced the Christ in all of us. How sad it is to read a member of the clergy write with such distain for the laity who serve a Eucharistic Ministers. Christ says that everything that you do unto each other you do to me, yet Fr. Kiley says “Hands reached out toward one another in community; they were never once folded in a gesture of adoration.” Its seems to me that any hands reached out in community ARE a gesture of adoration.

Fr. Kiley concludes his litany of complaints about saints with the sigh… “Clergy and laity co-chaired the whole exercise; the priest’s unique action in the person of Christ took a back seat.” And yet, how great that a community could come together and the presider could set his ego aside and preside instead of be the center of everything. How lucky this parish is to have such a strong, holy man to be their pastor. “And the saddest aspect of this [Fr. Kiley’s] liturgical” rant? “The people loved it”, yet he couldn’t see the beauty of it.

Kiley’s Quiet Corner: (i.e., the rant)My vacation took me to the far west or maybe I should write the far-out west. Perhaps somewhere on the Pacific coast, a choir of cloistered nuns was chanting God’s praises while a priest filled the sanctuary with the aroma of incense. It was my ill fortune to encounter congregations celebrating life with a piano-guitar-tambourine back-up. First of all, in the churches I attended, I had to ask the location of the tabernacle. One tabernacle was placed in the wall of a former cry-room, now used as a daily Mass chapel. Another tabernacle, a magnificent wooden structure maybe seven feet tall, was solitary in a darkened room. Ironically, huge baptismal fonts were typically visible at the church door. One parish even had the Book of the Gospels displayed in the tabernacle’s former locale! The “Our Fathers” and “Hail Marys” that used to be on the lips of Catholics as they recollected themselves before Mass have sadly disappeared. A merry hubbub was enjoyed by parishioners arriving for Mass and inquiring over the pews: “How’s the new job?”; “Who’s the kid’s new teacher?”; “Is Mary out of the hospital?” Building community has eliminated the former focus on the Divine Presence. The celebrant entered, attired in alb and stole. A chasuble would have been too clerical. The Mass began with an invitation for everyone to turn to the neighbor and offer a friendly greeting. The Penance rite was replaced by a brief consideration on how grateful the assembly should be for God’s gifts. The Service of the Word with a folksy but decent homily passed without incident. The innovative Creed was actually a modified renewal of Baptismal vows. The congregation dutifully answered “We do” when asked if they believed in God the Creator, God the Redeemer and God the Sanctifier. In lieu of the general intercessions, persons celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and other memorable occasions were invited to come and stand at the altar and receive the community’s recognition. Kitchenware replaced precious metals as the altar was prepared for the memorial meal. As one might have guessed, the entire congregation stood during the Eucharistic Prayer. (The deliberate lack of kneelers ensured this.) Of course, there were no bells. The assembly joined with the priest in reciting the final solemn words of the Canon: “through Him, with Him, and in Him,” and then redundantly sang “Amen” to reaffirm what they had just declared. During the Lord’s Prayer, small children were invited to the altar to form a circle of hands with the celebrant. It was so cute. The remainder of the congregation held hands across pews and across aisles in a “hands across America” gesture that has become the hallmark of the caring and sharing generation. The “deliver us, Lord” was skipped so the whole assembly could raise their held hands high and conclude the “Our Father” in Protestant fashion: “for the kingdom, the power and the glory.” The Sign of Peace is better imagined than described. Filene’s Basement on the day after Christmas could not be more hectic. Needless to say, about a dozen extraordinary ministers of Communion approached the altar during the Lamb of God, formed a semi-circle behind the priest, a la concelebration, and then received Communion simultaneously with the priest. The congregation continued to stand until a lay person (of course) returned the residual hosts to the quarantined tabernacle. The celebrant concluded the Mass by not concluding the Mass. The Mass does not end, we were reminded. It continues in our daily lives. When Christ instituted the Eucharist, he commissioned his disciples: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Very little of the liturgical action out west evoked the memory of Jesus Christ. The entire liturgy was an exercise in self-promotion. Persons greeted one another in neighborly concern but there was no hush acknowledgment of the Divine Presence. Persons stood erect in affirmation of their own dignity; they never once knelt in recognition of God’s transcendence. Glass and ceramic vessels spoke of their workaday world; gold and silver would have connoted something much too otherworldly. Hands reached out toward one another in community; they were never once folded in a gesture of adoration. Clergy and laity co-chaired the whole exercise; the priest’s unique action in the person of Christ took a back seat. And the saddest aspect of this liturgical embarrassment? The people loved it.

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Ahh, the Church leaders are obviously involved in a DaVinci-Codish conspiracy of Constitutional proportions… Why else would they be silent on the Catholicity (or lack their of) of Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Anthony Kennedy? After the inevitable confirmation of John Roberts, there will be four Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court. One more and they can of course, overturn Roe v. Wade. That could be the only reason for the American Catholic bishops to attack Catholic Democrats and give a free pass to Republican Catholics that are pro-death penalty, pro-torture, anti-civil, and anti-equal rights.

Continue the Conversation:

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Wasn’t it interesting to watch the Baptist ministers with their shirts rolled-up commiserating with the victims of Hurricane Katrina…while Bishop Hughes of New Orleans walked around in full-cassock and preached.

Priestly celibacy along with the Sacrament of Matrimony are two ways that Catholic Christians are invited to serve God’s people, especially the poor by living the Christ life. To say,”The priest in truth is both father and husband,” doesn’t make it so. ( For priesthood, celibacy is the issue, Journal, August 18th). One becomes a faithful husband by renewing the promise to love your wife in thoght, word and acton on each new day and in every circumstance. This is especially hard when your ego is on the line with your wife looking at you in disgust for bleeching her beautiful blue blouse the shade of dirty dishwater. One becomes a father by struggling out of bed at 2:00 a.m., ignoring the ungodly odor escaping from the baby’s room and cleaning the small behind of that bay you love beyond belief. Of course, one can always say no to those actions that make one a husband and father. It is contrary to reality and a misunderstanding of how God is present in our world to imply a priest, “Without hesitation, not incumbered by his own biological family, he goes to the hospital…” Unfortuinately there are many instances when a priest says no and does not go to the hospital. The biological family described as an incumberence is the very presence of God for the husband and father. God who is Trinity, God in relationship. To suggest that a priest is more available to God’s people than a married man or woman is to deny reality. Just take a look around. Celibacy is a great gift to the church, to the world and to those who are called and who freely accept it. But not for the reasons presented in the article. Priestly celibacy is like Baptism and Marriage an on-going process of turning away from the illusion of the ego and turning to serve God and God’s holy people, especially the disenfranchised. To be a priest is to be like a husband and father , a wife and mother. It is to be a person wrought with human fraility but beyond all it is to be a lover, seduced, transformed, on fire with love and living each day amid the odors and failures of the world offering a glimmer of hope now and in a world yet to come.

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‘Over the pope as the expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority, there still stands one’s own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority. This emphasis on the individual, whose conscience confronts him with a supreme and ultimate tribunal, and one which in the last resort is beyond the claim of external social groups, even of the official Church, also establishes a principle in opposition to increasing totalitarianism.’

This is from a commentary by the future Pope. The commentary was on how the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on conscience was in the same line of thought as John Henry Newman. (Commentary on the Doctrine of Vatican II, vol v, p.134, edited by Herbert Vormgrimler)

Do you think he wishes he could take back those words? No, intellectually, he probably still believes it…he just is probably incapable of seeing the issue in the real world.